BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2169
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 26, 2006

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                   Judy Chu, Chair

               AB 2169 (Montanez) - As Introduced:  February 21, 2006 

          Policy Committee:                              JudiciaryVote:9-0  
          (Consent)

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable: Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill deletes the existing January 1, 2008 sunset date on  
          the Safe at Home Project, thus making permanent this program,  
          administered by the Secretary of State (SOS), that provides  
          address confidentiality to victims of domestic violence and  
          stalking.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Continues an otherwise sunsetting program, with annual GF  
            costs to the SOS in the range of $200,000. 

          2)Costs to local governments for this program are minor.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Background and Purpose  . Persons attempting to escape domestic  
            violence and stalking frequently establish new names and  
            addresses in order to prevent the violent abuser or stalker  
            from finding and re-victimizing them. California's Safe at  
            Home Project, created as a pilot in 1999, was modeled after a  
            similar program in the State of Washington. Safe at Home  
            permits a victim of domestic violence or stalking to apply,  
            through a community-based victims' assistance program, to the  
            SOS for a designated address, other than the victim's actual  
            residence, for use in public records. Local and state agencies  
            are then required to use the victim's designated substitute  
            address as the victim's official address for creating,  
            maintaining, modifying, or disseminating public records. 

            According to the author, the data collected by the SOS shows  








                                                                  AB 2169
                                                                  Page  2

            that the project has provided some 2,600 victims an  
            opportunity to live a new life without having to constantly  
            move and live in fear of being discovered.  Given the ongoing  
            problem of domestic violence and stalking in California, the  
            author believes that this successful project should become a  
            permanent program.

           2)Related Legislation  . SB 1062 (Bowen), pending in the Assembly,  
            extends the Safe at Home Project to include victims of sexual  
            assault.
           
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081